A Black experience in a white world

By Izayah Morgan

Opinions Editor 

Often in my childhood, I experienced being only one of a handful of Black children in a room. However, throughout my K-12 experience, I had a range of interactions with diverse communities, including those of different races, religions, sexualities, and gender identities.

My best friend at that time was Muslim and provided both a different outlook on religion and life as a whole. Another friend who stuck by my side during a tough time in my life was a gay Black man who saw the world similarly to me but had faced homophobia on top of racism, scared to even come out to his own parents, who were conservative Jamaicans.

My experience in college has been a similar story in some aspects. While some classes have a diverse pool of students, others are majority white. This is a downside for both white students and students of color. 

White students often come from an environment where most others in their communities look like them, so when they come to college, it's a similar experience. 

For students of color, it's often worse giving them an experience that can isolate and destroy them when they are some of the only people like themselves in the pool, feeling like they are in shark-infested waters.

During my undergraduate experience, I have seen and heard microaggressions with my own eyes and ears. For example, I have heard people say that affinity groups that are primarily serving students of color are exclusive clubs that just host parties. Or their reputation is that they are not worth pouring the resources into. These claims often come from individuals who have chosen not to be members of those groups.

It's a similar story for groups that predominantly attract majority white students. They have the stigma of their groups being cliques and are intimidating for students of color to join. 

I understand the stigma from both sides and why it's there - it's historical, by design, and harmful. The way we interact with other groups can make Black people feel like there's an underlying hostility between different groups.

In a white world, I feel my experiences have had an underlying current of prejudice. I have to guard myself against the traumatic experiences I have faced on campus - the microaggressions, the denial of my negative experiences and the downright egregious words people who look like me have been called.

Being Black in a space that is hostile to you will place another’s mediocrity over your Black excellence, while at the same time only propping up a select few Black people to represent a diaspora of people. It often requires you to be contemptuous in a system that at the same time puts down everyone who looks like you.

We have to remember that we do live in a bubble in Framingham State University, so things can seem well rounded, until it pops and you're reminded how the world really works. We all suffer from biases and often, people who continue that behavior don't get called out. Becoming more educated on race, gender, sexuality, and religion demands a time commitment but also requires you to recognize the negative traits you are exhibiting.

Do the work.